A manager has been appointed at a new day nursery due to open in Charlton Hayes in Spring.

Cherelle Craig will take the helm of the new Mama Bear’s Day Nursery & Pre-School which will serve families in Charlton Hayes, Patchway and surrounding areas with affordable, flexible childcare.

With 10 years’ experience in the childcare sector, both in private settings and Council-managed settings, Cherelle started out as an apprentice before gaining Levels 3-5 in childcare qualifications.

Cherelle has most recently acted as a manager for another Mama Bear’s setting in East Bristol.

The Charlton Hayes nursery will open its doors to the first families in April, having been purpose-built and fully resourced with new toys, equipment and outdoor play spaces.

The nursery will offer Mama Bear’s Flexi-Care option which is aimed at shift workers and freelancers, enabling busy parents to use a flexible booking system to meet the needs of modern life.

Cherelle says she is most looking forward to helping children settle in and training new staff.

“I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to work with a setting from the very beginning and supporting the owner Tony Driffield in launching this new and much-needed nursery.

“It means I can have input on sourcing the right resources and helping to embed ourselves in the local community.

“The very best bit of working in childcare is watching the children develop and hit their milestones and I’ll be able to do this from the very beginning here, while helping the children settle in. I have a particular passion for SEND provision and I love seeing the positive impact practitioners can have on the children and their families’ lives.”

Cherelle is now looking to build her team and appoint several positions including nursery practitioners and apprentices.

New staff can expect all the benefits of working for a nursery group including career progression and professional development, excellent rates of pay, free uniform and free lunch. In this case, staff will also benefit from being in a brand-new environment.

Cherelle said: “I’m really looking to appoint people with a range of backgrounds so we can come together and work collaboratively as a team to initiate new ideas. Settings work best when the whole team bounces off each other and, in the same way I enjoy watching children

develop, I also take pride in nurturing staff as they grow and progress as well.”

The 96-place setting will care for children aged three-months to five years from 7.30am to 6pm, all year round and is the 25th nursery in the Mama Bear’s Day Nursery group.  

Anyone who would like to find out more about a career with Mama Bear’s nurseries can visit www.mamabear.co.uk/careers